Cycling remains unpopular in several areas despite its environmental benefits. This essay argues that this phenomenon stems from the lack of convenience and safety while potential measures include bicycle-friendly facilities and safer road designs.
Two possible reasons for the unpopularity of bicycles could be inconvenience and a sense of danger. Regarding the former, commuting by bicycle can be extremely time consuming and physically demanding, particularly for those who have to travel long distances. This can reduce job performance and study efficiency, meaning that various commuters would opt for faster modes of transport rather than bicycles. The second reason is that cycling is frequently perceived as dangerous since there can be several aggressive drivers on roads while a bicycle offers minimal protection from these potential threats. For example, the majority of roads in Vietnam are usually crowded with motorcycles and automobiles, thereby raising a safety concern among several cyclists and potentially deterring them from this practice.
Nevertheless, governments and companies could take action to address this issue. Perhaps a feasible approach to start with is for businesses or schools to invest in making their offices more cycle-friendly by accommodating more bicycle-related amenities, examples of which are reliable, spacious places to park and lock bicycles, changing rooms, and showers. Such facilities will maximize convenience for cyclists and thus promote the habit of cycling. Another measure is that the authorities should ensure traveling by bicycle would become safer. This could be achieved by better road designs with segregated lanes for bicycles, reducing the risk of collisions with cars, buses and other means of transport, which has proved to be extremely successful in attracting more cyclists in some European countries such as Denmark or the Netherlands.
In conclusion, traveling by bicycle is still not popular partly because it is inconvenient and partly because it is deemed to be unsafe. However, governments and companies can focus on making cycling safer and more convenient in order to increase its popularity.